Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heater core, and more particularly to a heater core which has a simple structure using a pipe connector formed by coupling a first plate and a second plate, thereby facilely manufacturing it, and also which can have a smaller size, since an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe are disposed to be adjacent to each other.
Description of Related Art
Recently, in the automobile industry, as the concern for energy and environment has been increased globally, there has been research on the improvement of fuel efficiency, and research and development efforts for lighter weight, smaller size and multi-function has been steadily made to satisfy various demands of customers.
Particularly, a heater coil is used as a heating apparatus of a vehicle, in which heat exchange medium heated by engine heat is heat-exchanged with air and the heated air is supplied inside the vehicle.
However, since it is generally difficult to secure an enough space in an engine room, there have been many efforts to manufacture a heater core having a small size and high efficiency.
In a conventional heater core in which an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe are respectively connected to a first header tank and a second header tank, and thus a distance between the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe is so great.
However, in the majority of cases, it is necessary to reduce the distance between the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe in order to apply the heater core to a vehicle.
FIGS. 1a and 1b are perspective views of two kinds of conventional representative heater cores, wherein FIG. 1a shows a U-turn type heater core, and FIG. 1b shows a one-way type heater core.
Referring to FIGS. 1a and 1b, the conventional heater cores include first and second header tanks 21 and 22, an inlet pipe 25 which is connected to one of the first and second header tanks 21 and 22 so as to introduce heat exchange medium, an outlet pipe 26 which is connected to the other header tank so as to discharge the heat exchange medium, a plurality of tubes 23 which are fixed to both ends of the first and second header tanks 21 and 22 so as to form a fluid passage, and fins 24 which are interposed between the tubes 23.
Herein, in case of the U-turn type heater core shown in FIG. 1a, when it is inserted into an air conditioner case, the first and second header tanks 21 and 22 are positioned left and right so as to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance, and thus an air flowing space as a heat exchange surface area is reduced. Hence, there is a problem in that heat exchange performance may be deteriorated.
Meanwhile, in case of the one-way type heater core shown in FIG. 1b, when it is inserted into an air conditioner case, the first and second header tanks 21 and 22 are positioned up and down so as to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance, and thus it is possible to solve the problem that the heat exchange performance is deteriorated by the reduction in the heat exchange surface area of the U-turn type heater core.
However, since the inlet and outlet pipes 25 and 26 are respectively disposed at the first and second header tanks 21 and 22, it is difficult to apply the heater core to a vehicle in which it is required that the inlet and outlet pipes 25 and 26 are adjacent to each other.
To solve this problem, there has been proposed a heat exchanger disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-132599. FIG. 2 shows the heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger shown in FIG. 2 includes a first plate 12 which is communicated with a first header tank 21 so as to form an introduction passage 11-1, a second plate 12 which is communicated with a second header tank 22 so as to form an discharge passage 12-1, and a flange 30 of which one side is connected with the first and second plates 11 and 12 and the other side is connected with inlet and outlet pipes 25 and 26.
The above-mentioned heat exchange has an advantage that the inlet and outlet pipes can be disposed to be adjacent to each other. However, since pressure in the introduction and discharge passages is rapidly increased, the heat exchange medium cannot flow smoothly, and thus the heat exchange performance is lowered.